Propeller and tractor for use in aerial or marine propulsion or traction.



v s DIGGLE. PROPELLER AND'TRAPTOR FOR USE IYN AERIAL 0B MARINE PROPULSION 0R TRACTION.

APFJJCATION H'LED MAR. 28, 19:1.

Patented Nov. 20, 1917 2 SHE\ETS- SHEET I/vk'E/v To re:- 6574054 13/ GGLE-i' S. DIGGLE. PROPELLER AND THACTUR FOR USE IN AERIAL 0R MARINE PROPULSION 0R TRACTION.

v APPLICATION FILED MAR.28, 3947- 1,246,891.

Iatnted Nov. 20, 1917.

2 SHEETS SHEET 2,

,subjcct of the King of UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

BAHlTEL DIGGLE; OI BEIXTON, LONDON, ENGLND.

rnolgn'tnnn AND 'rnno'ron run use In AERIAL or. mamnn rnorctsmn 6n mac rxox Toall whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, SAMUEL DIGGLE, a Great Britain and Ireland, 'andresident of Brixton, county of I London, England have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Propellers and Tractors for Use 'in AEIHLl'O! -Mar1ne Propulsion or Traction, of which the follow ing is a specification.

This invention relates in general to pro )ellers, and more articularly to a. novel improvement in bla e construction especially adapted for use in propellers or tractors of the type employed in connection. withacreplanes. I

It has been found desirable to make blades for propellers and tractors in. such a manner that they may be readily assenibled, re paired, adjusted andv renewed in an expo ditious manner, and without the aid of special tools or machinery. .In making aerial flights it often happens that a propeller or tractor blade becomes damaged and the ma chine is forced to descend to make repairs,

and, being away from base it is desirable to carry blade parts which may be readily put together when the occasion demands to pro vide an entirely new hladeor quickly repair That 'isf'to {say.- the m the damaged one. vention proposes to provide a, construction wherein every separate part of the propeller or tractor may be standardized andintcr.

event of damage showing a modified form. of girder having "webs which assist in 5 can be speedily replaced, in contradistinction to the fact that under present methods,

become damaged., the entire propeller 1s ivorthless. Further, a spare ropeller cambe carried in section in actual flight, thus enabling a pilot to replace either a part, or even the whole expeditiously and Without special skill or tools.

Acqordingly, with the foregoing. general object in vie'w"'i'tis proposed to provide a blade structure which involves an interior skeletomgframe .work which may be fitted with a suitable covering to form the blade propen, In other words it is proposed to construct a blade having asmtableinterior reinforcement-Whichwill not only provide the necessary plate blade may be built,

should onepart 7 but will also cause the blade to return to its normal position i when it has been removed from torsion arising 'eitherthrough ordinary or abnormal load. Thus, an terior'imme work 18 con- Specification of Letters Patent. Patented No 20, 1917.! Appllcatlon filed Kate 2!, 1817. Serial I0. 158,071.

foundation on which the com-' templated which is flexible; strong and of sufficient stability to not only give adequate resistance to the blade when in use, out also bring the same back to the original position load, thus preventing so-called tiredness or fatig'ne I A further object of the invention is to. provide novel means for att bin the blades to the propeller hub, where y t .epitch of the blades may be readily adjusted or varied to nset various conditions of service and use.

-W1th the above and other objects in view which will more readily appear, as the nature of the invention is better understood the same consists in the novel construction, combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter more fully described, illustrated and claimed.

A preferred 'and practical embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accoms panymg drawings, wherein'z- Figure l is a vertical sectional view showmg the skeleton frame work of the blade which is intended to be surroundedj'by a. suitable body, not shown. I

Fig. 2 is a transversesection on the line of Fig. ,1.

Fig 3 is a detail elevation on a. smaller ao when the blade is relieved from torsion or scale of the web of the H-girder showing the taper thereof from. the base toward the.

upper end. Fig. l is an elevation partly in section thereon the transverse forming the shape o'fithe blades.

Fig. 5 15 av transverse section on the line Fig. 6 a detail perspective view of a portion of a hub of a propellci wheel having thereonan adjustable blade carrying plate whose position may be altered to vary the I pitch of the blades.

Similar references designate corresponding parts throughout the several figures of the drawings. v In carrying the present invention into effect it is proposed to provide a main girder disposed longitudinallyotthe blade which forms What may betermed -the vertebra or backbone thereof since 'it' has associated therewith suit'z'ibleti ansvers?':webs or shaped "to c'oincid'e with the s'ctio'n of the blade at the several points *vv'hr they, are allixed, and of requisite stren'gt conjunction with the other' menibik oi" J h?- to iimpart 3 it wil formation of the webs it will be clear that the blade such resistance as the articular blade in which they are employe' may require.

Referrin -now to this longitudiaallyldier orcin element of the blade 11:. will be observed roin Figs. 1' and 2 that 't'heposed rein same is in the form of an .H-girder consisting of three lenfihs of springsteel, namely a web member of graduated height and the flan e elements B. By reference to Fig.

fibe seen that the opposite edge portions of the tapering web A are provided with a plurality of ofiset ton es A, which are ada ted'to interlock wit the opposite flange e ement's Bgf the beam, and in order to make this interlock ossible, each of said elements B is provided with a plurality. of slots B for receiving the said tongues A whereby when the said flan e elements B are assembled on the web A, t e tongue portions A may be upset after the manner of riveting to hold the flanges to the web: A beam or girder thus formed, will be tapered or graduated. longitudinally so that. its tip end is smaller than its base end, andi'fot the purpose of making the entire structure stable, and capable offacile assembly, it-is proposed to provide a novel way for fitting the transverse ribs or web elements to the girder and securing the samein'place.

These web elements are? esignated generally as F, and as previousl indicated, are of ashape corresponding to t ie shape 01 the blade at the several points along the girder at which they are to be finally atlixed,while their central portion is provided with a'suitable opening or slot G corresponding in shape to the cross sectional character of the beam or girder, and of such size as to fit the. beam atpredetermined points.- That is to say, the several transversely disposed webs- F are provided with central openings of graduated size, the size of-each corresponding) to'the portion of the beam where the we is, to be finally anchored. \Vith this the same are slidably fitted over and onto the beam until the size. of the opening orslot therein coincides with the size of the beam, then the web will become wedgingly interlocked therewith" and remain stationary. I oiffiiistance, the web F which is nearest the ba'seof the girder or beam will 'have a larger opening than the web which be comes anchored at thc"'intermediate portion of the beam, and likewise the beam nearest the tip will have a smalleropening than the last mentioned veb.- Thus-, the web havin the largest opening must be slipped into placefirst, an'd'the webs. having smaller openings suhse rpiently' fitted overthe beam in proper order. The application of the webs to the beamflin this mannerhas the advantage of maintaining the built rip-girder in its assembled relation, and at the same time locks the webs in such a manner that the so-called flexible characteristics of the entire blade skeletom, which permits the blade to assume its normal condition after the load-is removed therefrom, is conserved. After'the'webs are tlhus'assembled on the "-i'beam it is proposed for the sake of additional bracing, to secure a tube, metal wire or itsequivalent J throu h suitable countersu nk notches'K in the e ges of the webs, so that while the rods will act as a support for the blade forming material, they will not project be ond the lines of the webs in the finished bliide. In assembling the interior skeleton structure it may be noted that the' '-beam is only partially assembled initially in order to permit the sliding of the transverse webs into place. That is to say, the

ends of the flange members B adjacent the large end of the web A are made secure while the tip ends are left free to permit ,the web nearest the base being slipped in place, for if the parts B were securedto A throughout it would be impossible 'to slip the web having a slot corresponding in size I to the cross section of the base, over the rela tlvelysmall end of the beam. T herefore', it-

will be understoodthat the members B are only made fast to A after each Web has been pushed into place The taper of the H-beam when finally assembledholds the webs in place, without any othermeans since it will be clear that each web cannot move closer to the base on account of the size of its central slot, and likewise cannot be moved nearer the tipbecause the narrowing space between the flanges BB will prevent any. movement in this direction.

.- Referring now further to the girder shown I in Figs. 1 to 3 inclusive, it may be noted that the lower end theregf is preferably flared outwardly in sucha manner as to be -capable of. fitting within a suitable dovetailed socket, designated -'formed in a carrier plate adjustably carried-by the hub Q of the prolgenerally-as T adapted to-be peller.

Asv'shown in Eig. 7, this carrier plate P, having on its upper face the -dovetailed socket T, has its lower 'face proyided with suitable serrationsV adapted to be engaged Wlth complementary serrations Y or thcir'equivalent for "producing the required frlctionalyengagement of the parts when the carrier plate 'islocked to the hub. 13.

The face of the hub Qhaving thereon the serrations V has associated therewith suit able upstand-inggbolts Y which are adapted g to passthrough'elon'gated openings Zin'the carrier 'p late Pwhich permit of the latter being ad usted with reference to-the hub Q when the'nnts'W' are loosened,"while on' theother hv d'when' the said nuts are made] tight on the threaded bolts Y the carrier plate is rigidly clamped to the hub. The dove tailed socket .iorm'ed oothe upper base portion ad face of the carrier plate is accessible from ing the blade therein, the op osite parallel walls- Tjof-the plate which orm thesides of the socket are provided with suitable openings to receive the transverse holding and locking bolts U which preferably have the heads U at one end and'thesecuring bolts U at the other.

From the foregoing it will be understood that the carrier plate P provides for securely fastening theflared lower end or base of-the blade in thedove-tailed socket T, and securely locking the same therein by the bolts U. When the blade is adiusted on the carrier plate to the proper pitch, the

latter is locked to the hub Q bv the nuts W on the bolts Y being screwed downwardl to cause the two serrated faces V and to engage and firmly hold the blade stationary.

'A modified form of girder is shown in Fig; 4 of the drawings. Instead of making this girder of'the H form shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3 of the drawings, it is proposed to embody all of the same characteristics 1n different structural form. That is to say, it is proposed to utilize a plurality offlat spring strips 01 slats C, in the presentinstance, of suitable length and thickness, which are held suitable distances apart by means of graduated. spacing sleeves E and fastening bolts E. As shown the two outer strips C- -C in Fig. 4 taper toward the tip end of. the central strip, thus producing a girder of graduated or tapering formation whose base is considerably Wider than this tip, thus facilitating the application of the transi'erse Webs F, which are applied in the 1 same manner as the webs 1 111 Fig. 1. However, these webs are provided with slots G which of course correspond with the cross sectional shape of the beam as shown in Fig. 5of the drawings. The lower ends of the strips C,C-C have fitted thercbetween suitable filler blocks'SS which add to the strength of the base of the, girder andinsurea tight and accurate fit in the socket T of the carrier plate P heretofore referred to. Thus, it will beclear that the modification shown in Fig. 4 embodies all. of the essential characteristics'of the girder shown in Fig. 1, since it is of tapering or graduated size, has the transverse web members telescopically fitted thereover. and has the flared apted to fit within the dovetailed socket T. Q

Without further description it is thought that the structural features and characteristics will be apparent, and-with further reference to the features'and advantages thereof it may be noted that the present invention makes possible the designing of the variousseetions, angles, and curvature of the resisting power and uniformityds t e in blades to conform with accurate pred'etermined standards, andtrue efficiency. Furthermore, themovel arrangement of girders :and web mefnbers takes care of the varying pressures on the blades so that when an abnormal load is placed on the blade it will be effectually resisted/ and afterward the blade will automatically assume its originalplace and position. In other words, renter variable result of using steel instead of a wood, While at the Same time giving greater accuracy, standardizing production,.obviating the warpingand dissolution tendencies of wood and glue construction, and facilitoting packing and transport. Also, in. the present construction a true streamline cone of entry is effected, and the maximum translation speed of the engine is conveyed into eflicient dynamic thrust, while at the same time the provision of means for altering the angle of adjustment of the blade to provide different pitch, is of great value when'the venue of light is-changed from one atmospheric condition to another.

I claim I 1. In a propeller or tractor construction, a blade. having interior reinforcement, the said-reinforcement includiu a longitudinal stitfening member of gra uated areas in cross section and transverse members hav ing locking telescopic engagements there with at spaced intervals.

r 2. In a propeller or tractor construction, a blade having-interior reinforcement, said reinforcement consisting of a centrally io cated reinforcing girder of graduated areas in cross section, and transverse members each having a central opening correspond in shape to the crossfsection.of the girdt and of graduated; sizes to register with ti dimensions of the girder at predetermi spaced intervals. Y i

3. In a. propclleror tractor construction a blade havin interior reinforcement, ski reinforcement including; a longitudinal stjiiening member tapering toward the endjo'f the blade, transverse web members was. having a central opening for telescopically fitting over the stiffening member and adapt" ed to wedge thereon at spaced intervals g'gand a reinforcing memben'carried by .saidweb members. "I.

4. Ina; propeller-or tractor construction, a blade having interior rein-forcementfsaid reinforcement comprising a longitudinally w disposed flanged beam, f'ransverse web members'having a telescopic fit over said beam, and a reinforcing member carried by said web members. v

5. In a propeller or tractor construction a blade having interior reinforcement, suit reinforcement comprising a longitudinally in size toward its outer end, "transverse. we

the beam,.and a reinforcing e by thesaid web members.

members having a central opening corre-'-f spondirig to the shape of said beam and" of a size corresponding to predetermined points thereof, whereby said web members ma haye a locking telescopic'en agement wit ement carried 6. In a propeller or tractor Construction, a blade having lntenorremforcefnent 1mcluding a central stiflening member having a tapered base, a hub, a carrier plate having a dove-tailed socket for receiving the'base of the stiffening member, and means for eflecting the adjustment of the carrier plate on the hub.

7. In a propeller or tractor construction,

. the combination of a hub having an adjustment face thereon, a blade carrier'having means for adjustably engaging the said "adjustment face of the huh-means for locking the carrier tothe hub to hold the same in unadjusted position, a. holding. socket formed on the carrier plate for receiving the blade, and locking means associated with said holding socket for 'detachably lockingthe bladeflgerein.

8.. In a propeller or tractor construction, a blade having interior reinforcement, said reinforcement consisting of a built up tapering; girder,. anda plurality of transverse we elements having a frictional telescopic 

